While Mortals Sleep
by BlackEyedGirl
Summary: Mal might not be able to muster the appropriate holiday spirit, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. River understands this. Premovie, so no spoilers. Gen Mal POV on his crew.


Title: While mortals sleep  
Pairings: None (brief mentions of the canon pairings in passing)  
Spoilers: All of the series, no movie spoilers.  
Characters: Mal, crew  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: Mal might not be able to muster the appropriate holiday spirit, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. River understands this.  
Archive: Just ask.  
AN: Part of my challenge to write festive fluff in all my fandoms. So, be warned for fluff and festivity!

* * *

'Kaylee! If one of these bits of frippery falls into my engine and clogs it up, I'm holding you responsible.' 

'Nothing's gonna fall into the engine, Captain, everything's shiny.'

'I can see that,' he answered, nodding at the red foil paper suspended around the engine room. 'Ain't you got enough of this fei huà in your bunk?'

She looked hurt, and he was almost repentant. 'I was just tryin' to...'

'Do you see me stopping you? But if we fall out of the sky, know whose door I'm gonna come knocking on.'

'Surely,' a cultured voice broke in, 'if we fall out of the sky, no one will be in any position to knock on doors and blame anyone.'

'Doctor,' Mal said, 'I see sneakin' up on people runs in the family. Where _is_ that sister of yours anyway?'

'She's with Inara in the shuttle. They're making more decorations for Kaylee.'

'_More? _Seems to me we got plenty already._'_

'Just a little more, Captain,' Kaylee said. 'We need some for round the table. Shepherd's making something in there that...' she smiled beatifically, imagining the feast.

Simon smiled at her. 'And I'm sure the decorations you three have made will finish the table perfectly.'

'Might not even notice we're in a "floating rust-bucket" and not some fancy-dan core restaurant,' Mal broke in snidely.

'Rust-bucket?' Kaylee asked quietly, giving Simon a wounded look.

'Don't mind the Captain.' Inara walked out of her shuttle with River trailing behind. 'He's having a little difficulty mustering the appropriate holiday spirit.'

River hummed to herself as she danced round the engine room, admiring their handiwork. She stopped to look at Mal. 'Not absent. Not demonstrated within the normal parameters, but not absent.'

Mal looked at her. 'That's good.'

She laughed. 'Silly really.' Reaching towards him, she handed him one of the decorations. 'That one's for you.'

'What is it?' he asked. A chain of paper people unfolded, arms oddly distorted.

'For you.'

'Because crotchety captains are only deserving of mutant paper chains?'

Bestowing one of her mysterious smiles upon him, she turned away, and headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

River was still humming. The song was in his head now too, but he couldn't figure out what it was. It was driving him half-mad. 

'River!' he yelled. 'Bì zuî! I can't even get one gorram moment to think in here without being sung to about sin and dead villages…'

Mal looked over from the table at the sudden silence. He was being watched by half his crew.

Zoë was favoring him with a particularly acid glare. 'Don't see how the girl's doing anyone any harm,' she said.

'Did I not just explain how she's harming my train of thought?' he exclaimed.

Wash grinned. 'I'm sure the coffee's very sorry about that,' he answered, nodding at the mug Mal had been staring at. 'I've heard that those beverage-captain thought links are very delicate.'

Mal made a noise of exasperation and stormed out of the dining area.

* * *

Shepherd had outdone himself, that was for sure. Mal could smell the banquet all the way down the fore passage. 

'Would this be a bad time to ask how much of our coin went into these festivities?' he asked, entering the room.

'Yes!' was the resounding answer.

Dinner was quiet, broken only by appreciative noises about the meal. Mal made his excuses and left as soon as he was finished. As he walked back to the cockpit he could hear the noise levels rise, with Kaylee and River's giggles ringing louder than everything else. See, he had done one nice thing today. He had left them to their music and dancing while he babysat the ship. Serenity was pleased with his company, even if no one else was today. She didn't try to spend all their coin on things they didn't need, just because of a festival for a non-existent God on a dead planet. When she asked for something it was because she needed it. And she didn't ask more than he could give. She didn't want him to make nice just because the Shepherd's book had declared this to be a happy day. She let him call a day good because they were still in the air, and let him fret when, like today, they were short enough on jobs that he was worried they mightn't stay that way.

Still, as he sat watching the stars, he could hear River's singing.

* * *

Mal liked walking his ship when the crew was asleep. He could walk from one end to the other without being bothered by anyone's lack of coin or protein, Wash's regularly scheduled mutinies, or whether Jayne really was gonna kill the doc one of these days. Long as everyone had the good sense to stay asleep and out of his way, he might even get to be in a better mood for tomorrow. Provided Kaylee got rid of her pretties anyway. 

He passed Kaylee's bunk first. It looked festive at the best of times, but today it was shining even brighter than normal – covered with stars and hearts. He'd have thought the Shepherd would have gently dissuaded her from mixing Christmas and Valentines. Then, telling that smile to take down her decorations was something even her mean Captain hadn't been capable of, so it was no real wonder that Book didn't discourage her. Soft music was playing inside the bunk. It sounded like River's song again. One of those carols the preacher had loaned her. He could hear Kaylee singing softly to herself along with the music. He supposed it hadn't really been fair to end her fun just because he was in a mood. Tomorrow he would let her play music in the engine room loud as she liked to make up for it. She would have forgiven him already, but he felt the need to apologise all the same.

Jayne was snoring loudly in his bunk. Mal knew from experience that not a lot would wake him from that state. River talking in his ear during Early's invasion of the ship sure hadn't done it. But he knew full well that when he called Jayne on the comm. in an emergency, the merc was there within minutes, armed and ready. Mal wasn't rightly sure what went on in Jayne's head that it would only respond to Mal's calls to wakefulness, but it was reassuring nonetheless. Man never knew when he might need a fully armed mercenary to be minutes away.

Zoë and Wash's bunk. In a pleasant change, tonight he couldn't hear anything he really, _really_ didn't want to have to listen to going on in his second-in-command's bunk. Just breathing. None of that clichéd in sync thing for Wash and Zoë. Their breathing was always out of sync. One breath in matching the other's breath out. Keeping them skin to skin as they slept.

He walked down the stairs to the cargo bay, and detoured via the door to Inara's shuttle. Door firmly shut, naturally. Couldn't hear anything in there, but he knew she was asleep. Shuttle just felt still. Not the absent kind of still though. He hated that kind – the kind she was still threatening to leave him with. But tonight, the shuttle was only still with that odd peace Inara brought so long as they didn't actually have to converse with each other for more'n thirty seconds at a stretch. He stood quietly outside the door for another moment or two.

Passenger dorms next. Book was awake in his bunk, talking to himself. The door was open, as it always was when the preacher was awake and decent. Mal walked soft past the door, not hindering Book from his quiet prayer. He couldn't see how just asking for peace and health on Serenity would ever get anybody anywhere, but that was Book's business. If asking the almighty for assistance was what kept the Shepherd as one of the best shots, and undoubtedly the best peace-maker, aboard Serenity, then he was welcome to it. Mal walked past, Book's words of soft prayer washing over him peacefully, no matter that he couldn't make out what they were.

Halting at the entrance to Simon's bunk, he heard a noise inside.

'River?' Simon asked.

'Just me, doc, go back to sleep.'

'Are you sure?' Simon was already alert. 'Is there anything wrong?'

'Not a thing. Don't trouble yourself.'

'Goodnight then, Captain.'

'Night, Simon.'

He had no doubt that if he _had_ needed something, Simon would have been in the infirmary inside a minute. Wasn't as if Mal had even made much noise, but Simon slept lightly, making sure that he could be alert quick enough to deal with the numerous scrapes the crew got into, as well as his sister's night terrors. It was something of a pity that Mal had witnessed Simon's sharp transition from sleep to wakefulness, for both reasons, a good few times. Still, there was something heartening about Simon's preparedness.

And, speaking of Simon's sister, where was that girl? Mal peered into her bunk as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake either of the Tams again. No River. He walked back towards the cockpit. River wasn't exactly known for her ability to stay in bed all night, but he hadn't passed her on the way down here. Not like she could get anywhere, and she was calm enough often enough now that he didn't fear for the ship. But he liked to know where everyone was. He'd feel better if he knew she was safe and accounted for.

He found her in the pilot's seat, singing to the stars. That same song again. Now he really wasn't going to be able to get it out of his head.

She turned to him, and this time he heard the words. She watched him pointedly as he took her paper decoration out of his pocket. They fluttered apart, and he saw their stretched arms again. Not deformed after all.

'_While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.'_

'I ain't got a halo, little one,' he warned.

She grinned teasingly. 'But you do like dresses.'

'You got me there.' He looked down at her bare feet and frowned at her thin nightdress. 'And what about you? You ain't asleep, so I guess that makes you an angel too. And a cold one by the looks of it. C'mon Gabriel, lets get you some tea to warm you up.'

Giggling, she answered, 'Gabriel's a boy's name.'

'Well, we already got one man with a girl's name. Don't see no reason why we can't do it backwards as well.'

She tilted her head consideringly, and smiled. Spreading her arms like wings, she took off down the corridor. Mal followed her more sedately, humming to himself.

* * *

FIN - Thoughts? 

_bì zuî_ - be quiet/shut up  
_fèi huà_ - garbage


End file.
